I remember many FReepers expressing that same “bottom line” in 2008 about one Barack Obama. Americans can break hearts with their penchant for emotional voting. Never say “never.”
Barack Obama was for most of the nation an unknown. He had not been on the public stage and what little exposure he had was cleaned up by the media.
Newsome has a pubic record. A record that is still being written. If (and it is an almost impossible if), if he manages to turn California’s economy around he may have a chance.
I would agree Obama was an unknown, but only until the early months of 2008. Much was made about his ties to Jeremiah Wright, his radical upbringing, stint as “community organizer,” and the near-complete dearth of executive job experience... yet, (most of) the country enthusiastically elected him. It was an emotional bond with his supporters, completely unrelated to anything substantive. American voters do some really weird sh*t, so I’d hold off on stating someone like Newsom would “never” be elected President.